An emerging trend in the marketing of cable television and digital satellite systems (DSS) is to emphasize Pay-Per-View (PPV) television programming as a source of revenue. An ideal PPV television system should allow a viewer to purchase the right to watch a television program such as a movie, sporting event, or other special event through a minimal amount of effort on the part of the viewer. For example, after watching a short preview or advertisement of a PPV program, the viewer could gain access to the PPV program simply by pressing a selected button on the viewer's remote control unit for a television or video cassette recorder (VCR). In another example, the viewer is watching an informational commercial ("infomercial") or a home shopping program and the viewer desires to purchase an advertised product by pressing a selected button on the remote control unit. In existing television systems, in order for the viewer to arrange for PPV program access, the viewer must go to the viewer's telephone, call the PPV program provider (such as the cable company) and enter his or her cable box serial number, credit card number and PPV program identifier. The PPV program provider then enables the cable box to display the selected PPV program to the viewer. In the home shopping situation, the viewer must write down the advertiser's telephone number and product identifier, go to the telephone, call the advertiser or a home shopping service provider, and then communicate the required credit card and product selection information to an operator.
In more recent systems using digital set top boxes (such as DSS), the set top box itself is directly connected to a telephone line in the viewer's home and the remote control unit includes a button for ordering a PPV program. When the button is pushed by the viewer, the telephone number of the PPV program provider is automatically dialed and the box identifier and PPV program identifier are automatically transmitted over the telephone connection to the PPV program provider. In this scenario, the viewer must establish a credit card account with the PPV program provider for billing purposes prior to pushing the button to select a PPV program. A major drawback to effective operation of these systems is the requirement that the set top box and television must be close to a telephone jack in the viewer's home, because of the direct connections by wire between the set top box, the television and the telephone jack. In many homes, the television is not in close proximity to a telephone jack, nor even in the same room, thereby rendering such systems unsuitable for widespread use. An interactive television system overcoming this drawback would have considerable value in the PPV, home shopping, and other interactive viewing situations.